With 117 votes in favor, none against and 3 abstentions, the Albanian Parliament paved the way for the Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPAK) to go ahead with the arrest and personal control of Arben Ahmetaj and his properties.
SPAK accuses Ahmetaj of corruption, money laundering, and failure to declare assets.
During the plenary session, reports prepared by representatives of the opposition and those in power regarding Ahmetaj’s case were read.
Gazment Bardh, the leader of the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party in the opposition, urged Ahmetaj to cooperate with justice.
“If every minister who goes to prison has to vacate their position, the Prime Minister should resign. The mastermind is not Damian Gjiknuri or Lefter Koka, but [the Prime Minister of Albania] Edi Rama,” Bardhi said.
Days ago, Arben Ahmetaj left Albania.
“The person who ensured his departure from Albania is Rama. Rama should hand Ahmetaj over to justice; he cannot escape with the money of Albanian citizens. Each of us colleagues should have one goal: Edi Rama should hand Arben Ahmetaj over to justice,” Bardh said, without providing evidence that the Albanian Prime Minister was involved in Ahmetaj’s departure from Albania.
Arben Pëllumbi from the ruling Socialist Party responded to Bardhi’s accusations.
“We are neither judges nor prosecutors to make decisions. We have a report presented by the prosecution, which should be brought before the court with the person under investigation, and the court is the only authority that should make the final decision. Until that stage, we must recognize the presumption of innocence. We are not here to make political decisions. [Bardhi] mentioned many names, mentioned the Prime Minister of the country several times, but he does not exist anywhere in the SPAK report,” Pëllumbi said.
Prime Minister Edi Rama was present at Friday’s session but did not make any statements in Parliament. Through his Twitter account, Rama announced he will speak on the matter Friday afternoon.
Pasdite në 18.30 do t’i drejtohem opinionit publik me një adresim për votimin e sotëm në Kuvend.
— Edi Rama (@ediramaal) July 14, 2023
The former Deputy Prime Minister and current Socialist MP did not participate in this Friday’s session as he is outside of Albania, but chose to address citizens as well as colleagues in a long update on his Facebook account, just moments before the Assembly session began.
After listing some of what he considered as the highlights of every governmental post he has held in Prime Minister Edi Rama’s cabinet and after explaining what he is accused of, Arben Ahmetaj said he has left Albania due to serious family reasons, even before the request from SPAK to lift his immunity reached the Post Office, hence he is no fugitive. His lawyer provided that Ahmetaj is currently in England.
“The investigation against me is unrelated to the incinerators. Due to my duties, I have never had the right to be involved in tendering procedures. Under investigation is Arben, his life for 25 years, and not the procedure,” Ahmetaj wrote among other things in his long message.
“Someone told me ‘They want you in jail’. I have been threatened. If I deserve it, of course it will happen… but not before the truth comes to light. Even Louis XVI was given four days before he was beheaded, while me and my lawyers were only given 17 hours in total,” Ahmetaj said.
“I will try to uncover the truth day by day,” the former Deputy Prime Minister concluded, apologizing to his family for the concerns he had “unwillingly brought upon them”.
Arben Ahmetaj has held several important positions during the ten years of Prime Minister Edi Rama’s governance in Albania. He has been the Director of Taxation, Minister of Economy and Entrepreneurship, Minister of Finance, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Reconstruction.
